Thanks

We put up a Thanksgiving tree at the beginning of November, and we added leaves to it throughout the month. Here are some things for which the kids are thankful (I tried to copy them as faithfully as possible . . . misspellings and all):

Lutece: my family, my brother, my money, Dolly, imajnation, flowers, food, cloths [clothes], a house, sweets, fingers, art, animals, the sesons, the piano, the world, birthdays, the toilet, the gosple, the cherch

Phoenix: dad, PVC pipes, tape, FHE [Family Home Evening], Books/re- ading [the hyphen was included], Night, Lutece, computer, Halloween, Wheeler Pharmacy [the local store at which the kids buy candy], Birthdays (smillo's) [his stuffed saber-toothed tiger], Banjo, my [as in, "my banjo"]

I am grateful for clever, punctuation-attentive, kind-hearted children and for a wonderful husband. I am grateful for an extended family that loves me and my husband and children (and each other). There is a lot of love in my family (both sides). Like Lutece, I am grateful for the Church and for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for a living prophet and for the scriptures and for prayer. There's too much to list. Suffice it to say, I feel very blessed. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Cutting School

Well, actually, for Phoenix it WAS school. But we took Lutece with us a couple of weeks ago when we went hiking at Raven Run on a *perfect* fall day, and she WAS cutting school. We are sooooo bad!

The funny part is that I worried and fretted and debated on whether or not to take her out the whole day or just part of the day, which day, since I didn't want her to miss one of her favorite subjects, or a test, or anything important (can you see how ridiculous this is?). Oh my GOSH!!! It's second grade! And three months ago, I could have cared less about anything having to do with public school. Now it dictates each day of my life! I have succumbed.

Luckily, not completely, because I did take her out for the whole day (and I DID buy those tickets to Mexico in the middle of May when, GASP, school is still in session). And it was a glorious fall day!

Whenever Phoenix saw something interesting, he would sit down in the middle of the trail, pull out his writing journal, and sketch whatever had interested him. In this case, some tree moss.

Snack break.

We hiked to the Kentucky River Overlook. Not only was it a beautiful day, but this was the first time the kids have not complained--no, not once. No wondering if we were there yet. No perpetually asking for candy snacks. No complaining about how long it takes to hike back. It was truly wonderful.

The Overlook.


So hard to get a good posed picture. All in all, a great day. The only downsides were the wasp sting I incurred (itched for a week!), and the boat-load of homework Lu's teacher sent home the next day. Seriously. Second grade, people!

The Aftermath

Lots and lots and lots of candy. These aren't the greatest pictures, but it's always fun to get a glimpse into the less picturesque (but often more fun) parts of life.

Our friends the Poulsens went trick-or-treating with us this year and as soon as we got home the kids dumped their buckets of candy all over the floor and commenced sorting and trading while the grownups talked.

Even Lutece was impressed by the cumulative amount of candy.

At one point during the evening, one of the kids pulled something out of his bucket, held it out and asked what it was. I started laughing, mainly at the audacity to hand out that particular treat. Candy cigarettes. Yup. All the kids got a pack. There's one dangling out of Lu's mouth.

Smokin'.

The Wizard and The Cat

Stayc: Let me get a picture of the two of you together.
Phoenix: Dad, witches are the ones that have cats. Wizards don't usually have cats.
Stayc: She doesn't have to be *your* cat. She's just any ol' cat.

Phoenix elected to be a wizard this year. You can't imagine how many times people asked him if he was supposed to be Harry Potter. "No, I'm just a wizard. Just any wizard."

The cape was a gift from a friend for his birthday and is AWESOME . . . all sparkly and what not. As soon as he got it, I knew I needed to gently guide him to the wizard area of Halloween costumes. My normally stubborn child was surprisingly supple. I DID, however, make the hat and the wand (I actually whittled it from a dowel, then sanded and painted it . . . I felt like I was channeling my Dad).

I made Lutece's hood and tail (which you can't see). This is the first AND the last time I will ever work with faux fur, if I can help it. Black fuzz EVERYWHERE!! Still, it was soooo soft to the touch. For past years, you can look here, here, here, and here (is that an Oxford comma, Scott?)

Happy Halloween!!!!!!